My First Sale on Etsy!

I sold my first item in my Etsy Store last week! My sweet friend, Christina, bought these:

I wanted to make something special to send with the earrings so I decided to make a cute card and a box for the earrings to go in with my Silhouette machine. If you don't have one.. you need to get one! They are amazzzzinnnggggg. 

(Note: this post is not extremely detailed in how to create these items, but rather what you can make on the Silhouette, so if you have any specific questions, please feel free to email me or leave a comment!)

I picked these pretty fall colors:

I used Silhouette's template for a box (it is a free shape that comes with the machine!). This is what the program looks like on your computer screen:

You might have to click on the picture so you can see it clearly, but you can make the box any size you want by dragging the corners (like you would a picture). 

I used the cardstock setting and put it on "double cut" so that it comes out better. It comes out of the machine like so:

Did I mention it also perforates the edges that you are supposed to fold? Um... genius!

I folded it and added some glue so it stayed all together. Then I added two free shapes to the top (two flowers that I just layered on top of each other):

Then, I moved on to the card. The card is also a template that Silhouette provides for free with the machine. I just sized it to the size that I wanted. Then for the front of the card, I cut out two brackets (also free!) and an adorable fall leaf (that was the "free-shape-of-the-week" a few weeks ago). I added a piece of the same yellow to the back of the leaf so it popped through that cute heart!

For the inside, I just typed in what I wanted to say and cut it all out. It is SO simple to do!

I just put the earrings in and they were on their way!

If you have an Etsy store, the Silhouette machine is definitely worth the investment. I just love how I can make each item more personal by making my own boxes and such to send them in!

And, Christina loved them and sent me a picture of her wearing them.. which made me smile :)

I hope to have more earrings up by the end of next week so keep an eye out! You could receive a cute box and card too! 

Toodles <3

Recycling: Candle Jars

Remember the question of the day? Well, Miss Marla guessed it-- the "jar" I used to hold the chalk on my chalkboard table used to be a candle.

So how does this:

Become this:

I'd love to tell you! :) It's really simple. Take a candle that has reached the end of it's life, like this one:

Then, stick it under hot water for a little bit:

The candle I used for the chalk came right out in one huge chunk after being under the hot water. This one, however, was tough... so I used a butter knife to encourage it to come out:

After the chunk of wax comes out, wash the entire jar with soap and water. Then, have fun with it!

I put decorative rocks (I bought a bag of them for $1 at a yard sale!) and a green candle inside of it to make a completely new candle.

Or you can use the decorative rocks to hold up your makeup brushes (this idea came from this post).

Or it can hold everyday items like q-tips!

For the crafter/sewer, you can use it to hold all of your supplies :)

Or you can make it simple by hot gluing vintage lace to the top.

Or you can get a little more "fancy" by hot gluing red burlap to it. I also glued on an adorable flower that I got for free at a yard sale. When I got it, it was part of a napkin ring, but I cut the ring part off so I could do something fun with the flower.

So, what do you think you could use your old candles for? 

I bought this one a few days ago and thought, "I wonder what I could do with that jar!?"

Yeah...it's official, I'm a dork.

Question of the Day

Can you guess where the cute jar that I used to hold the chalk in my chalkboard coffee table project came from? (Hint: I recycled it from something else)

You'll find out in the next few days :) But in the meantime, give me your guesses!

New Project Reveal

So.. I gave you guys a sneak peek a few days ago of the new project I've been working on. And now.. the moment we've all I've been waiting for:

My roomie and I bought this coffee table at a yard sale in Florida for $5. It had a cute shape, but it had a laminate coating on it so I was super nervous about working on it. I was so nervous I mightttt have kept it in storage for a couple months. But then, I read this blog about painting laminate and I decided to give it a try. Here are the pathetic before pictures (we had to take it apart to get it back to Georgia):

It had tons of scratches on top, as you can see. The blog I read told me that I should use Zinsser primer so.. I did. 

The primer was awesome. This particular one doesn't even require sanding! But I will admit that I did sand the table a little because I was so nervous. And a little side note-- I looked like a crazy person when I yelled at this little guy for walking where I had just finished priming:

The next day, I painted the table the same yellow I painted my Sunshine dresser-- Behr's Wild Bamboo in eggshell. I waited until the next day to do the chalkboard top. Oh, and I put the table together-- all by myself! My awesome roomie helped me with the process of the chalkboard top. We taped around the edges of the top and then wrapped a sheet around the base of the table like so:

And now, my friends, here is the after:

For the adults:

For the college kid:

And for the kiddos:

I. stinkin. love. it.

What do you think?

Update-- I completely forgot to post my inspiration photo! Sorry about that!

Source via Pinterest

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Sneak Peek of a New Project

Just wanted to give you guys a sneak peek of a project I've been working on this week:

It has to dry and I also have some touch-ups to do. I can't wait to show it to you guys! 

Hope you're having an awesome Friday!

Toodles :)

Dollar Store Find: Silver Tray

Good morning (or whatever it is when you're reading this)! I found these cute silver trays at the Dollar Tree  a few months ago and have found multiple uses for them! Thought I would share what I've done with them so far and then a little makeover I did for one:

I put a yellow doily on this one (found it at a yard sale) and now it's a cute little place I can put all of my accessories.

Our poor little coffee table needed something so I put a plant and candle on the tray.. much better!

(Sorry for the blurry picture)

So.. the other day I decided I needed to spruce one up. When I saw my book page glass jars it hit me. I started by spray painting the tray black:

 If I could go back in time (did anyone else just start singing "If I could turn back time..."), I would tell myself that I should scuff up that super shiny/cheap metal because it kind of got wacky with the spray paint. But hey, it kind of looked cool.. so I went with it.

Using the same technique as the book page jars, I mixed glue and water and then glued burnt book pages  to the bottom of the tray (Refer to the book page jars post if you have questions about this process). Remember, if you decide to burn the edges of the book pages, please be careful. I almost started a forest fire.. no big deal.

After that dried, I then sprayed it with some clear Lacquer to give it a shiny coat and to protect the book pages. Again, the metal/paint from the tray kind of got crazy here and created a crackle effect but it kind of looks like I purposely made it like that (the pictures don't show it very well, though.. go figure). Here is the final product:

And then you put cute accessories on it like so:

(Side note: I adore this little frog! And yes, he is reading the Wall Street Journal. My roomie, Crystal, found him at a yard sale this past year. I made fun of her for buying it... but now it seriously makes me smile every time I see it!)

The Dollar Store also has the trays in larger circles too! I can imagine transforming them and using them as a centerpiece or something for a party/wedding. What do you think? 

Hope you all have an awesome weekend! Toodles.

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